Burstein & Isenberg

What did it feel like to live in the past? Coming in April 2024: LONGING for CONNECTION, by Andrew Burstein

"There is very little difference in that superstition which leads us to believe in what the world calls 'great men' and in that which leads us to believe in witches and conjurors." -Benjamin Rush to John Adams, 1808. Happy Birthday, President Adams, sourpuss, realist, critic

Today on "Democracy Now" with Amy Goodman, Nancy Isenberg weighs in on White Trash, the contrivances in JD Vance's memoir, and how liberals don't recognize how they helped fuel his rise. (Interview extends from 1:39 to 1:51) democracynow.org/shows/2024/…

"Emotional states keep history alive and unsettled, while popular fictions corrupt values...Nostalgia leaves memory susceptible to a well-told story." Excerpts from Longing for Connection, now available, 30% off thru June @JHUPress

"The more I reflect, the more I am astonished at the important character of the historian. He is the sovereign censor to decide upon the renown or infamy of his fellow-men." ––Washington Irving, storyteller, satirist, historian, wit: born April 3, 1783.

From the Connecticut Herald: "Mr Jefferson is too old to be our next President... he shall decline a re-election... It will be recollected that he is 65 years of age." Jefferson concurs, citing "the wearied faculties of age." He had yet to conceive his retirement project: UVa

Almost all that's enlightening in experiencing Jefferson's Monticello is traceable to the tenure of Daniel P. Jordan (1938-2024) as its director. Dan touched many lives, welcomed presidents, promoted excellence in scholarship, embraced historical truth. monticello.org/research-educ…

This is nice. Anyone out there in history-land + poetry lovers can own an emotional history of early America, set for April release, at 30% off. And feel free to judge by the cover (miniaturist James Peale, longingly drawn by brother Charles Willson Peale). Offer good thru June

Remembering John Adams on his 288th birthday. As the memorial reads in the church in his hometown, one floor above the vault where he and Abigail lie side by side, we celebrate "the depth and compass of his mind."

5 years since this chyron wafted past on the tv news. does it really matter what the context was anymore? Rest assured, our national politics remains every bit as dignified as the founders envisioned.

Each year around this time, tufted cedar waxwings stop by to receive our berry offerings. Mask around the eyes gives them a brooding, contemplative expression. The only sad part is their proneness to crashing into windows––two have perished in as many days.

On his 280th birthday, we treat the occasion with appropriate gravity. Born Apr 13, 1743 in a modest house set on a small prominence, Thomas Jefferson moved up the east side of the mountain, built a deluxe abode in the sky––Monticello––and penned his memorable theme song:

A judge who commits a crime cannot be re-elected or reappointed; so how can it possibly be lawful for a felonious ex-president to seek office again? There's a bizarre logic out there, where trump's renomination is "likely," though he mindlessly threatens & demands capitulation.

"Outright contempt" for, disinvestment in liberal arts denounced by @BretDevereaux in NYT. Fact: History grads have high achievement, low unemployment in "real world" economy. US needs more critical thinkers to offset malign effect of incurious, unethical know-nothing wing of GOP

Mar. 8 birthday, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841-1935) Bostonian, Civil War vet (wounded 3x), SCOTUS Justice 1902-1932. He wrote: “The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye. The more light you shine on it, the more it will contract.” He knew.

What next? From CBS: "Long Island Congressman [sic] George Santos stuns NY political establishment by backing a bill to make the AR-15 assault rifle the national gun of the United States." Let's be originalists: anoint the Pilgrims' blunderbuss, stubby & unserious. Like Santos.

Washington Irving reawakened Rip Van Winkle in 1819. Now you can reawaken Washington Irving in 2023.

Apparently the only reason to stay on Twitter is this: